There have been a lot of big changes in the online gambling industry in recent years, but none have had quite the impact of the rise of mobile technology. The invention of smartphones and tablets has brought casinos to a whole new audience and made playing online slots and games more accessible than ever before. Let’s take a more in-depth look at just how important mobile technology has been in the growth of the casino industry.
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Convenience and Accessibility
The rise of smartphones and tablets has taken online casinos from being something you used to have to play on a desktop device and made it instantly accessible. Before mobile casinos, players could only access their favourite online slots and games when they were sitting at a computer, but now you can take them for a spin while you’re sitting on a bus or waiting to meet a friend.
This accessibility has helped the gambling industry grow significantly. It has also provided it with a lot more exposure and made it more available to people. Players spend more time than ever on their mobile devices, with most only using their desktop or laptop computers for work purposes.
The use of HTML5 technology to develop slots and games has meant that the gaming experience is just as good on mobile devices as on desktop ones. Slots now load just as quickly and offer players the same gameplay mechanics, bonus features, and winning potential on mobiles and tablets.
Making Gambling Safer
One of the biggest ways that mobile technology can help online casinos is with its safety. In a lot of ways, mobiles have moved faster than computers when it comes to security. While most computers are password-protected, mobile phones and tablets will often have other layers of protection, which is something that is extremely useful for online casinos.
Take a standard iPhone, for example. It will have facial recognition technology, meaning only the owner can get into it. If a phone doesn’t offer this, it will almost definitely offer fingerprint technology. While some laptops may also offer this, it has not yet become the norm. Until this changes, two-factor verification on a computer will not be as secure as it is on a mobile.
Online casinos often use these added layers of protection to ensure that players are kept safe when gambling online. Casino and bookmakers apps use facial recognition to allow you to gain access, with many of them doubling this up with a password or text verification. Many payment services will also require you to verify your deposits and withdrawals with the same methods.
Given that it is near impossible to replicate someone’s face or fingerprints, these methods are about as secure as a casino can get. Developers are no doubt trying to find ways to work these into desktop devices, but as of right now, they are a major selling point for mobile online casinos and mobile technology in general.
The Future
We’ve looked at how online casinos have utilised mobile technology to improve the availability and security of online casinos, but what does the future hold for mobile casinos? One of the biggest developing trends is using mobile payment methods like Apple and Google Pay. These are quickly replacing traditional bank cards and payment methods for many people, and online casinos are likely to utilise them more and more.
Another major change could come with augmented and virtual realities. Augmented reality apps have become incredibly popular. Mobile games like Pokemon Go led the way with this, and online slot developers will no doubt be looking at this technology to see what it can bring to the online casino world. Using augmented reality to play slots and card games could be a major step up from the already advanced live casino games we already have.
Finally, we may also see mobile casino technology used to tap into the social aspects of online casinos. There are already several major social casino apps on the market. As the industry continues to grow, especially in the United States, the potential demand for these will only increase. A move towards more gamified betting content could help to accelerate this.
Continued Connection
Major developments between the online gambling industry and mobile technology feel as though they will forever be linked. If there is a major update in mobile technology and how people use their phones, the gambling industry will quickly embrace this. Of course, mobile casino users are the first to benefit from this, with mobile technology making the casino experience more secure, more advanced, and most importantly, more enjoyable.
Author – Nerijus Grenda
